It should only be available to people born in this country or holding a British passport. Otherwise the patients should have to pay or take out insurance.

A similar restriction should be placed on social security payments.

There is, perhaps, some middle ground. When i started working as a legal immigrant in Greece, I was not entitled to claim unemployment benefit until I'd worked there and paid my taxes for two years. It seemed a sensible arrangement to me. (Teachers in private language schools work a nine-month contract and claim dole for the other three months)As far as I can remember, emergency health care was available from day one, but overnight stays in hospital had to be paid for.

Of course, it may be that the person themselves doesn't have to pay but if they don't and they're not a permanent UK resident or British citizen then their government does.

As I have never been an immigrant to the UK, I don't know how the system here works for immigrants. I do know how the Greek system works for immigrants, though, which is why I gave the answer I did.

As for your second point, when my wife reached pensionable age, the DWP sent the relevant forms for her to get an IKA book of her own, rather than having one because I had one. Initially, the arrangement was that IKA provided any treatment she needed and then billed the NHS for reimbursement. That was changed (or so I was told) after a couple of years to a system where IKA and the NHS agreed a sort of aggregate annual figure for reimbursement and stopped claiming for each individual course of treatment. So, it seems that governments do pay each others bills for healthcare.

Of course, it may be that the person themselves doesn't have to pay but if they don't and they're not a permanent UK resident or British citizen then their government does.

My friend, who was suffering from cancer, was rushed into hospital in Bradford because he was suffering from adverse effects of his chemotherapy. He was placed in an 8- bed ward next to an African who was suffering from a yet-to-be diagnosed disease and who was pretending not to be able to speak English as he didn't want the hospital to find out where he was from and to check if he was an illegal immigrant. He could speak it alright on his mobile phone when there were no nurses about.

I'll bet he got cured for nothing, possibly infected other people in the ward and is almost certainly still in this country.I'll also bet that his own country hasn't paid a penny of the cost.

My friend, who was suffering from cancer, was rushed into hospital in Bradford because he was suffering from adverse effects of his chemotherapy. He was placed in an 8- bed ward next to an African who was suffering from a yet-to-be diagnosed disease and who was pretending not to be able to speak English as he didn't want the hospital to find out where he was from and to check if he was an illegal immigrant. He could speak it alright on his mobile phone when there were no nurses about.

I'll bet he got cured for nothing, possibly infected other people in the ward and is almost certainly still in this country.I'll also bet that his own country hasn't paid a penny of the cost.

Hmmm, Just to let people know that Hospital beds are a premium and people do not get to hold them up them willy nilly. You said this guy was African how did you know? (or do you actually mean that here was a black man extracting money from the poor NHS)

In this suituation normally the NHS will use the translation services, which would have been used to initailly, obviuously the medical staff were concerned about his health, hence he was in hospital. That's the price we pay for living in a civilsed country where we don't think it is acceptable not to help those in need (regardless of status).

I hope that in futre if you are unlucky enough to have to go into hospital that it is a British-born only ward (sorry Celtic-born only), and non of these other non-disireables infecting your air space (like those of anglo-saxon, norse or Norman blood).